Many Don't Know a Heart Attack When They Have One

NEW YORK - The symptoms of a heart attack may be so subtle that many patients don't recognize them.

Action Points

Inform patients, including those who do not have the traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease, that the symptoms of a heart attack, including nausea and discomfort in the jaw or neck, may not be immediately apparent.

Encourage patients who have persistent symptoms that may seem unusual to seek medical treatment as quickly as possible and to utilize 911.

NEW YORK, Jan. 24 - The symptoms of a heart attack may be so subtle that many patients don't recognize them.

Most Americans (85%) are aware of the ominous interpretation of chest pain, shows a national survey reported here, but only about a third recognize discomfort in the neck (36%), back (32%), and jaw (30%) as common signs of an MI. And only 23% are aware that nausea could also be a sign.

On top of that, only 40% of the respondents say they would seek medical attention if they had any of these symptoms, whereas 59% said they would wait to see if the symptoms subsided. Fourteen percent said they would call 911 right away.

Not knowing the more subtle signs of a heart attack could cost patients time that might help save their lives, indicated authors of the survey, conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by PDL BioPharma, a medical research company.

The survey was released today in conjunction with Act in Time to Heart Attack Signs, a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute public awareness campaign. William Boden, M.D., of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, is Act in Time's national spokesman.

The online survey of 2,515 adults around the country included 1,370 individuals who had been diagnosed with a heart attack or who had a friend or relative who had been diagnosed with a heart attack. The survey was conducted between Dec. 16 and Dec. 20, 2005.

While 92% of those surveyed said treating a heart attack within the first hour of symptoms was critical to saving a life, only 35% of those who had been diagnosed with a heart attack or who had a loved one diagnosed said calling 911 was their first step.

Many patients waited two or more hours after symptoms started before seeking medical attention because they were unaware they were having a heart attack. Nearly half of all heart attack deaths occur before the patient reaches the hospital.

Forty-eight percent said they knew a heart attack could be stopped once it had begun. Although chest pain was quickly recognized as the hallmark symptom of a heart attack, only 46% of those diagnosed with a heart attack or who had a friend or family member diagnosed said they had experienced chest discomfort.

Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

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